south sudanese militias reportedly join the attacks

The Sudanese government has reportedly launched a major military offensive on areas of the Nuba Mountains underneath the control by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) today. Areas in and around Buram, Um Dorain, Heiban, and Dalami seem to be the primary targets thus far.

The military spokesman for the SPLM-N, Arnu Ngutulu Lodi stated that SPLM-N soldiers destroyed a military convoy consisting of 100 vehicles near the state capital Kadugli. 17 army soldiers were killed and several others were captured. The SPLM-N also seized a T-72 battle tank and other vehicles and weaponry.

The government of Sudan has been launching targeted attacks against unarmed communities and the SPLM-N in the Nuba Mountains since June of 2011. LEARN MORE »

While government-sponsored violence against civilians and SPLM-N soldiers in the Nuba Mountains isn't new, Lodi also said that “South Sudanese militiamen of the opposition” were fighting alongside the Sudanese army and allied militia troops. His reference is in regards to the situation in South Sudan just across the border from the Nuba Mountains, where opposition militias and former soldiers have battled the South Sudanese government as part of a power struggle in that country.

If opposition South Sudanese militias are in fact fighting alongside of Sudanese government soldiers and militias, it would further verify reports that the government of Sudan has been providing weapons and training to a limited number of opposition forces in South Sudan since the conflict began there at the end of 2013.

Lodi also stated that the SPLM-N successfully repelled government attacks in Teis in Buram, Hamra near Kadugli, the Kega hills near Talodi.

Fighting continues in the Nuba Mountains right now, specifically in Mardess and Agab. In the coming days, we expect aerial bombings of civilian areas in the Nuba Mountains to increase as more government ground attacks are launched.

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